Welcome to the Landmark Services Old House Renovation Blog

A historic home has numerous perks for its owners; original hardwood floors, high ceilings, intricate detail, and the fact that you have, and are living in, your very own piece of history. However, with the good also comes the bad; poorly insulated walls, air leaks in windows and around doors, and less than perfect water pressure.

While we're talking about innovative products I thought I'd mention another pretty cool new idea. A company called Trufig has invented a line of wall switches and outlets that can be flush mounted with any surface, and therefore made to almost disappear.

Since I started in this business as a renovation and restoration contractor, I have tried to look for new ways of approaching old problems. I love when fresh ideas are brought to the residential construction business.

Several times a year I am asked to look at old houses for potential buyers. I'll walk through the house and give them my opinion on the condition of the house, the feasibility of renovations and additions, ballpark costs, etc.

This past Thursday I attended a lecture by architect Matthew Bronski about the year in Italy he spent studying the architecture of that country. He wanted to see why some ancient buildings have survived to this day while others failed miserably.

Kitchen design is a very personal thing, especially when it comes to old houses. Some people want the kitchen to match the period look of their house while others don't mind having a more modern looking space.

Last time we did a survey of the Greek Revival houses in my town of Medway, Mass. There are some great examples of the style in town, ranging from humble to high style. Now let's take a look at the potential pitfalls of altering the original siding and trim details.

In the course of a recent renovation of a ca. 1795 home in Milton, we
needed to replicate an original rooftop balustrade.The one surviving
section displayed a "spider web" pattern composed of many small pieces
of wood nailed together.

When we build an addition on a historic house, we take pride in our ability to make the new space blend seamlessly with the old. One of the ways we do this is by avoiding the raw look of exposed concrete foundations. Instead, we typically place a veneer of stone over the concrete so that the new foundation looks very much like the original foundation- at least from the exterior.